La Royal is the PS's best option, in that she would reap 24% of the vote and then go head to head with Sarko in round two. A Sego candidacy sees the six candidates of the extreme left attract 18% of the vote, an Aubry gives them 23% and Delanoë 22%. Aubry would be knocked out by the Liberal Bayrou, while Bayrou would tie with Delanoë. The FN is a busted flush, but given how traumatised the PS was by failing to make it to round two in 2002, a second disaster might see it disintegrate. Yes please.

Anyway, Aubry pushes up the abstention / spoilt vote etc level to 26%, whereas the figure is stubbornly 25% for the other two. In another perhaps unexpected finding, Delanoe - an out gay man - seems to appeal to the Huntin' and Shootin' Party's voters, as he reduces its vote to zero, while Sego or Aubry candidatures see CPNT getting 1% of the vote. Maybe they are more misogynistic than homophobic....

In other findings, apparently 15% of the French have not been talking to friends etc about the election of Obama, and 33% have paid the credit crunch no mind. Also unexpected is that Left voters are more likely to have been talking about a round the world yacht race than the rest of their compatriots.